The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night
by Mrphteven
Summary: Two weeks following the events of A New Beginning, Cynder has fled the dragon temple out of guilt, forcing Spyro and the guardians to mount a search for her. But complications arise when the ape king, Gaul, mounts an attack on the last dragons. Their only solace is a mysterious and secretive entity known only as the Chronicler, who lives halfway across the world from them.
1. Chapter 1

Ignitus paced the balcony anxiously. He was regretting his decision. He should never have let Spyro follow her. It was foolish, he could see that now.

A mass of swirling light burst into existence nearby, making Ignitus stare at it with massive amounts of worry. From inside, a shape emerged, fighting to escape it. As soon as it was clear of the portal, the portal closed and whatever it was collapsed on the stone floor, dropping something as it did so. Ignitus saw, with dread, the familiar purple scales and orange wings.

"No…" said Ignitus, running up to Spyro, fearing the worst. The little dragon was lying completely still, not waking up.

"Spyro…" said Ignitus, "Spyro, please…"

"Don't worry," said a quiet voice nearby, "He's okay."

Ignitus turned to see who had spoken, and when he did, he felt a mix of surprise, wonder, concern and relief.

It was another dragon, completely black, except for a bright pink underbelly and wings. She was much smaller than the last time Ignitus had seen her, which had only been a couple of hours ago.

"Cynder?" he said uncertainly. Cynder nodded guiltily. Ignitus's face split into a wide smile.

"For 12 years I've dreamt of this day," he told her happily. She looked at him, confused.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I never gave up hope on you, Cynder, I knew one day you'd return to the light," he told her. She looked away, guilt overcoming her again.

"So…" she said quietly, "I guess I'm the child you mentioned earlier."

"Indeed," said Ignitus, "And now, you have seen the truth."

"I'm so sorry," Cynder said sadly, "I'm sorry for everything I did to you, and your friends."

"Cynder," said Ignitus, "You must understand that nothing you did under the Dark Master's control was your fault."

Cynder didn't reply. Ignitus tried again to reassure her.

"You can enter the temple," he told her, "You can cross the barrier, which means your soul is pure, innocent, and untarnished. What more proof could you ask for?"

Cynder smiled shyly.

"We should get you two back home," said Ignitus, "You need to heal and rest, you've both been through a great ordeal."

Ignitus lifted Spyro from the ground, and offered to carry Cynder back as well. Soon, they were home, and Spyro finally woke up again eight hours later.

Even after days of living in the temple, everything was still bizarre to Cynder. Everything felt warm and friendly, opposed to her old fortress, and everyone there was kind and helpful to her, rather than being scared and submissive. She herself was completely different. She had had 12 years to get used to being wicked, cold and foreboding, but now the curse was gone, she had an entirely new personality to get used to. She wanted to help people, to have friends, to not be alone any more, and inside the dragon temple, she had all those things.

But happy as she was, she still felt she did not deserve the kindness of Spyro and the guardians. She had been a monster. She had tortured the guardians and tried to kill Spyro, and yet they treated her like a family member. She couldn't live with it. The conflicting views caused her to frequently change mood, something that Spyro noticed.

"I'm fine," she told him, when Spyro had raised his concerns.

"No, you're not," said Spyro, "You're still beating yourself up over what he made you do. Don't bother denying it, because I know you by now."

"It's difficult to accept," said Cynder, "That nothing I did was my fault. I don't deserve this."

"No, you don't," said Spyro, "You deserve more."

Cynder remained silent, unsure of what to say. There was an idea forming in her mind, but whether or not she would execute it, she still wasn't sure. As they day progressed, however, she finally deduced it was necessary.

Cynder living in the temple had affected everyone else as well, in different ways. Spyro and Ignitus were delighted to have her around, the guardians took a little time to get used to her new friendliness, but they did so eventually.

The only real cause of trouble was Spyro's eccentric and rather annoying foster brother, Sparx. The little dragonfly made it quite plain he greatly distrusted Cynder, and was sure she would turn on them any second, and that they were all fools not to see it.

"Give it a rest, Sparx," said Spyro, finally having enough, "She's having a rough time of it as it is, don't make it worse."

"Make it worse?" retorted Sparx, "I'm speaking my mind, she tried to kill us numerous times, and you're defending _her_?!"

"I'm not going through this again with you, Sparx," said Spyro, "I've told you again and again about the Dark Master's curse, you even heard it from Ignitus, but it doesn't seem to stay in that tiny head of yours, does it?"

"Don't bother, Spyro," said Cynder.

"I don't want you feeling any worse," said Spyro, "He can be quite harsh."

"I'll manage," said Cynder. Spyro continued to look at her with concern, but when she remained silent, he eventually looked away, giving up on the argument.

It was during these silences that Spyro once again developed an odd feeling for Cynder. He always felt shy, and sometimes found himself looking at her for longer than he would have intended. He couldn't explain what it was, but so far, Cynder hadn't noticed, or at least hadn't mentioned it.

Over the course of the next few days, Spyro noticed Cynder becoming more reclusive than normal, and suspected that something was bothering her, or that she was planning something.

After a full two weeks of Cynder living in the temple, Spyro's suspicions were finally answered one quiet, clear midnight.


	2. Chapter 2

Spyro awoke with a start. He had just had a vivid dream about what seemed to be some kind of mountain fortress. He couldn't remember much about it, but he had remembered it being terrifying, with a huge sense of evil surrounding it. As he lay, trying to recollect himself, Sparx buzzed by, looking more cheerful than Spyro had seen him in quite a while.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" he asked suspiciously.

"I can finally get some rest, that's what," replied Sparx, "No more lying with one eye open watching around for the female-of-fright."

"What?" asked Spyro, snapping to attention, "What do you mean?"

"Just saw her, sneaking out the front door, evidently trying to escape," explained Sparx.

"We have to find her!" said Spyro. Sparx's mood dropped like a stone.

"Why?!" he demanded.

"It's not safe for her outside at night," said Spyro, "Especially once she's outside the barrier. Come on!"

"Do we have to?" complained Sparx, but he tagged along anyway.

Spyro crept as quietly as he could past the Guardian's Quarters, where the elder dragons Ignitus, Cyril, Volteer and Terrador where sleeping, so as not to wake them up, and then proceeded down the stairs and into the gloomy entrance hall. His footsteps echoed down the long corridors either side of him as he walked, and eventually, he opened the front door and proceeded outside.

He could see Cynder just ahead of him, walking toward the forest. He called out to her, and she stopped, evidently having dreaded this happening.

"Where are you going?" Spyro asked when he caught up with her. Cynder hesitated.

"Away," she replied, "I'm sorry, I can't stay here any more."

Spyro sighed. It seemed that him trying to get through to her had failed. He debated whether or not to tell her again. Cynder seemed to read his mind.

"I know what you've been telling me," she told him, "I've listened, but I just can't accept this. I don't belong here with you, I'm not a hero, nor can I fight the Dark Master. Your destiny is here, but mine is out there to find."

"You can't go," said Spyro, "Cynder please!"

"Goodbye, Spyro," said Cynder.

"No!" said Spyro, but before he could say any more, Cynder was suddenly engulfed in a shadowy fog, and she disappeared. Spyro stared at the spot with confusion, defeat and sadness. She was gone.

"Well, she's gone, I'm going to get some sleep," said Sparx. Spyro remained silent and still.

"Come on, bud," said Sparx, "You can't stay out here all night. Like you said, it's dangerous."

Spyro looked at Sparx sadly, and still didn't say anything. Sparx was unsure of what to say. Spyro looked back up and stared at where Cynder had vanished, and something caught his eye.

Silhouetted against one of Eclasia's moons was the shape of a large, bat-like creature, with something riding on it. Spyro was filled with dread.

"Get back to the temple," said Spyro, "NOW!"

He and Sparx went full speed back over the barrier as the dreadwing neared. As it came, more appeared over the forest edge.

Spyro threw open the front doors, pelted up the stairs, and barged straight into the guardian's room. All of them woke abruptly.

"Spyro..." said Ignitus, through a yawn, "What is it?"

"Apes," gasped Spyro, "They're attacking the temple."

The guardians suddenly snapped to attention and began to make their way outside.

"Spyro, find Cynder and get to safety," said Ignitus.

"But..." Spyro began, but Ignitus had already sped off toward the entrance. Spyro hastened after him.

"Wait, he told us to get to safety!" protested Sparx. Spyro ignored him, and Sparx sighed and followed.

The guardians were assembled at the now fully open front gates, and outside, at the edge of the barrier, an army of apes had assembled.

"We're safe as long as the barrier stands," said Ignitus, "We just need to wait here for now."

From the army, a gigantic, hulking ape emerged. It wore chipped iron armour and a horned hat, and one of its eyes glowed bright green.

"Gaul," said Ignitus, his eyes widening in fear.

Gaul lifted his staff, and a bright surge of green energy erupted from the crystal at the end. The beam flew through the barrier and landed right where the crystal powering the barrier was concealed.

The ground detonated, sending chunks of rock and rubble flying everywhere. When the dust cleared, the temple's threshold was nothing more than a huge hole in the ground, littered with chunks of rubble and glittering blue fragments.

The barrier had fallen.


	3. Time to explain myself

Looks like I've got some 'splainin' to do. So yeah, it's been nearly 2 years since I posted 0_0. Where has the time gone. I just want to apologise for it.

A lot has happened since I last posted a chapter. I've finished college with a grade in Art, and I've finally started work on some original works, all of which are part of an extended universe that I hope to bring to life one day.

But with one book finally finished, and many more being worked on, this one came back to me, and all the love it had. Spyro was my childhood and I do not want to abandon him. So I've decided to return to my roots and finally finish this trilogy. After that, this account will probably be done with, but you can find more of my works on Wattpad, under the username CMac (or CPJMac, which ever comes up publicly).

On that account, you'll find the beginnings of my original works. Most will be part of the same universe (tagged DarkRealmUniverse), and a few others will be stand-alone stories. Right now, you can check out the first instalment of Dark Realm, titled Alex Thunder, an adventure involving a teen girl that embarks on a journey across mythology with the many gods of Earth.

But before all that begins properly, its time to finish what I started. Get ready for more Spyro coming at you. And this time, we're gonna finish it!


	4. Chapter 3

"Everyone, follow me!" Ignitus shouted. The apes charged forward, their eyes filled with malice and rage.

"Oh, I'll never manage to get any sleep will I?" Spyro heard Sparx's voice say over the chaos. He, the guardians and Sparx were now charging for their lives, Ignitus in the lead, Sparx offering illumination down the gloomy passages.

But apes had piled in from the back, and soon the dragons found themselves in a pincer attack. A fight, it seemed, was inevitable.

"Spyro, stay behind us," said Ignitus.

"But I want to..." said Spyro.

"No!" said Ignitus, cutting in, "You have not fully recovered yet, this is out of safety, Spyro. Stay behind us."

Spyro reluctantly obeyed, staying in the middle of the guardians. The apes charged, and the Elder Dragons began to fight.

Spyro's ears rang with the noise; the swish of blades, the roaring of flames, the thudding of Earthen chunks, the whistle of icy spikes and the humming buzz of electricity. Bright light in blue, yellow and red flashed across the room.

"Where is Cynder?" they heard Terrador shout, between the heavy falls of his boulders.

"We must find her before they do!" Ignitus replied. His brief second without breathing fire cost him, as an ape managed to land a blow on them, breaking their defence.

The guardians were forced to scatter, and Spyro was caught off guard as a rogue ape jumped and tackled him. He saw its snarling teeth above him.

Still week, he struggled to push it off, and soon a very sharp looking axe was being held aloft just above his head.

His vision hazed, and with a sudden thumping sensation in his head, images began to appear. He saw in fleeting glimpses, a tree, a ship, an ocean, an island, and at the very end, the silhouette of a dragon. And when the dragon appeared, a voice spoke.

"When the eternal night does draw nigh, seek out the one, he who keeps time."

And suddenly, Spyro felt within him a great surge of power. With one sharp exhale the ape was blasted 20 feet into the air in a cone of flame, and landed very heavily, and very still, on the marble floor nearby.

Spyro got to his feet, feeling the elemental power surging through him. Something, or someone, had returned his powers. He felt a sensation inside him, one he'd felt before, but this time it was different. This time, he could control it, he could withstand it.

A violet glow built around his heart, and with a shout, he blasted a gigantic shockwave of pure energy from within him. A Fury blast.

The hallway cleared very quickly, all of the apes blasting backwards further than the gloom would allow them to see. All of the guardians turned to Spyro.

"What?" he said innocently.

"Quickly, come!" Ignitus said, coming back to his senses.

The fury had been different this time. Spyro felt no weaker, his powers were still active within him. What had changed?

"Spyro, how?" Ignitus asked as they ran.

"I'll explain in a minute!" he replied, focussed on getting to safety.

"Please warn me next time if you're gonna start shooting purple suns out of yourself," said Sparx's angry voice in Spyro's ear.

After quite a few minutes of running, they had mostly lost the apes, but Sparx soon piped up to ask what everyone else had been thinking.

"Where exactly are we going, old man?" he demanded. Ignitus looked around frantically.

"Here!" he exclaimed suddenly. He flipped a hidden switch in the floor, which creaked and cracked to life, revealing a secret entrance to an old, dingy passageway.

"Get in! Go!" said Ignitus. The four other dragons and the insect piled inside, and Ignitus followed in quickly, the door closing behind him. Roughly a minute or so later, they heard the thumping of the ape's footsteps overhead. When the noise finally died down, everyone visibly relaxed.

"Onward," Ignitus whispered, "There's a small safe room down here, and an exit should we need it."

They shuffled down the cramped passageway and, sure enough, it soon opened into a small room. It was small, but there was at least room to move and stretch.

"Are we all safe," Ignitus asked. He did a head count, and soon realised something was very wrong.

"Cynder!" he exclaimed, "We never found her!"

"Cynder's gone," Spyro piped up. Everyone turned to him.

"Gone?" said Terrador, "What do you mean gone?"

"She ran away," said Spyro, "I tried to stop her, but she disappeared."

Ignitus looked overwhelmed with all sorts of emotions.

"She was overcome by guilt," said Ignitus, "And I think we all know who is to blame for that."

Everyone shifted their focus to Sparx, who looked very taken aback.

"Why's everyone looking at me?" he asked.

"Everything just goes in one ear and out the other doesn't it," Ignitus ranted at him, "I told you a thousand times to stop belittling her, but you never listened. And now, she's gone, and could very well die."

Ignitus thought best to turn away, before he fully unleashed his rage.

"Spyro," he said, once he'd finally calmed down, "Are you at all familiar with the reason behind your sudden powers?"

"I'm as surprised as you guys are," Spyro replied, "But just before it happened, I had this weird vision. I assumed it had something to do with that."

"What kind of vision?" he asked.

"I don't know, there was…" said Spyro, racking his brains, "There was a tree, and… and a ship, and then someone appeared. It was too dark to make out his face, but he said something, and then I had my powers back."

"What did he say?" Ignitus asked. Despite his memory of the vision being somewhat hazy, the quote had stuck in his head vividly.

"He said 'When the eternal night does draw nigh, seek out the one, he who keeps time.' I don't know what he meant," said Spyro. Ignitus, however, looked as if he understood perfectly.

"It is far worse than I have feared," he said solemnly. The other guardians shared his look of concern and fear.

"What does it mean?" asked Spyro.

"You have been summoned," said Ignitus, "By a dragon more powerful than any of us could ever hope to be. The chronicler demands your presence."


	5. Chapter 4

"Who is the Chronicler?" asked Spyro. All of the guardians looked both bewildered and intrigued.

"He is the keeper of time and fate," explained Cyril, "An ageless one that watches over the world. His power is so great that he only intervenes in the most dire of situations."

"So him appearing now cannot be good," Terrador added.

"An astute observation," commented Volteer, "Ignitus, any input upon the subject matter?"

But Ignitus continued to look grim. After several tense seconds, he uttered under his breath the part of the poem that no one had discussed yet.

"The night of eternal darkness…"

These words snapped the Guardians' attention. Now, each of them shared Ignitus's look of dread, but Spyro remained bemused.

"We cannot waste another second," said Ignitus, in a very commanding tone, "We must find Cynder before the eclipse and find safety."

The guardians voiced their agreement, and Ignitus turned to Spyro.

"You must seek the Chronicler, and answer his summons," he informed, "He may be our only chance of pulling through."

"But… how can I find him? And what's the night of Eternal Darkness?" he asked.

"I'm afraid that's too complicated to explain now," Ignitus replied, "Stick to finding the Chronicler. The visions you saw must have been clues. Search your instincts, and you'll know the way. I would suggest the Alacran Forest as a start, a few miles north of here. It is said that the chronicler's enchanted tomes are written on parchment from those trees."

With that, Ignitus motioned the other guardians, and they all began to leave through the secret exit.

The door opened on the cliffside that the dragon temple was built on. The dragons managed to evade the eyes of the apes by diving low and into the trees below.

Soon, all of them went their separate ways. Spyro headed due north, watching the Guardians fly to who knows where.

As the sun began to peek over the horizon, Spyro soon found himself over a swampy forest of vibrant colours. It was one of the strangest places he'd ever seen. Though getting used to it became much easier when Spyro remembered the world of Convexity.

The rivers here were pink, and the flowers bloomed in bright blues and reds, and the canopy overhead glowed green in a strange mystical fog that hung over it all.

"So how are we supposed to find this tree of yours in a forest of trees?" asked Sparx.

"Ignitus said the Chronicler came here for parchment," replied Spyro, "So I'm guessing it'd have to be a very special tree."

"Ah of course," said Sparx sarcastically, "A 'special tree.' Very obvious now."

"Oh shut it," said Spyro.

They wandered through the undergrowth, following the flow of one of the luminescent pink rivers. Soon, they came to a slope, and looking out through the trees they saw a crater.

The rivers flowed into this crater, and massed around the base of a truly gigantic tree. Through its branches weaved blue, vein like patterns. It's leaves glowed all the colours of autumn, and the magical aura it gave off seemed to be the fuel of all the strange effects of the forest.

"That has to be it," said Spyro. Sparx didn't comment, utterly flabbergasted.

Spyro approached the tree, using small stepping-stones in the pink to reach the bark. He lay a hand upon it, and felt his mind leave him.

He was drifting in a void, without form. All he could see was a bluish mist all around him. And then, through the fog, he heard a familiar voice.

"Fear not, Spyro," it said. It sounded old, yet untold wisdom swept through every syllable, "I see you have answered my summons."

"Are you the chronicler?" Spyro asked back. His thoughts seemed to be his voice in this world.

"Indeed," the voice replied, "I needed you here to talk more properly. If brief."

"What is it you want?" Spyro asked.

"To see a people rise once more," the Chronicler answered, "To see a new dawn of the dragon race. And only you, Spyro, hold the power to make this happen."

"What do I need to do?" Spyro asked.

"Seek me out," the Chronicler's voice answered, "By the light of the moons above the sapphire sea, you shall find me."

And again Spyro felt himself drift, back down, and before he new it, his vision returned and he was in his body once more.

"You ok bud?" Sparx asked, "You went all spacy for a minute."

"Yeah… yeah, I'm ok," said Spyro, "The Chronicler wants us to find him."

They began to walk back the way they came, continuing to talk.

"So this Chronicle guy," said Sparx, "He wants us to find him? Why can't he just come and find us?"

"I don't know, Sparx," said Spyro "But I suppose someone as wise as him always has a reas-WHAAAAA"

Spyro was suddenly snapped up by a net hidden in the undergrowth. It rose until he was restrained over 5 feet above the ground, and from the trees emerged some very strange creatures indeed.

At first glance, they looked like the apes, but upon closer inspection, Spyro realised they were not the apes in the slightest. They were dog-like, with pointed ears and long muzzles, with scruffy tails dragging behind them. Almost like wolves. Each one was wearing armour with a matching emblem: a dragon skull. Something about that didn't bode well for Spyro.

"Cor, what a catch," one of them spoke, in a deep, husky voice, "Cap'n 'll be well chuffed with that."

"Get 'im down then!" shouted another, "We ain't got all day, tournament's startin' at dawn!"

"Oh boy," said Spyro.

 ***I'm glad you guys are still enjoying this story, it keeps me going knowing that people enjoy it as much as I do :)***


	6. Quick update

p class="western" style="margin-right: 0.7cm; margin-top: 0.2cm; margin-bottom: 0.2cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style, serif;"span style="font-size: large;"strongFear not, I am not dead./strong/span/span/p  
p class="western" style="margin-right: 0.7cm; margin-top: 0.2cm; margin-bottom: 0.2cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style, serif;"span style="font-size: large;"strongI am currently moving house at the moment, so I've been busy juggling packing with work, and it's been tough to find time to work on the story. Along with that, I probably wont have WiFi for a little while./strong/span/span/p  
p class="western" style="margin-right: 0.7cm; margin-top: 0.2cm; margin-bottom: 0.2cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style, serif;"span style="font-size: large;"strongThe story will continue as soon as everything is sorted and back on track, I promise I haven't abandoned it again./strong/span/span/p  
p class="western" style="margin-right: 0.7cm; margin-top: 0.2cm; margin-bottom: 0.2cm; line-height: 100%;" align="left"span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style, serif;"span style="font-size: large;"strongThat's all for now. See you soon./strong/span/span/p 


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